2024-07-31 16:18:38
The statement said the strike had hit the residence of I. Haniyeh, head of the political office of the Islamic Resistance of Hamas, in Tehran. The cause of the “incident” was not immediately clear, but the gardaí said it was “under investigation”.
Sources in the Saudi publication “Al Hadath” revealed the cause of the Palestinian’s death – according to them, I. Haniyeh was killed by a guided missile aimed at his private residence in Tehran.
The news portal reports that the rocket hit the building around 2:00 a.m. local time – this is what Iranian state media also claims.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Fars News also said Haniyeh was staying at a veterans’ residence in northern Tehran and was killed by an “airborne shell”.
After Hamas and Iran blamed Israel for the strike in Tehran, Israel’s military responded by saying it was “not responding to reports in the international media”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will assess the security situation in Tel Aviv today, an Israeli official told CNN. He added that a meeting of the security cabinet would take place after him.
Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani expressed doubts that mediation between Israel and Hamas could succeed following the assassination of the Palestinian group’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
“Political assassinations and the continued targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip while negotiations are ongoing make us ask, how can mediation be successful when one country kills another country’s negotiator?” Peace needs serious partners,” Sheikh Mohammed, who heads Qatar’s mediation efforts, wrote on the social network X.
“Will completely change the dynamic” in the region
On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed to make Israel “regret” the killing of “cowardly” Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend its territorial integrity, honor, pride and dignity and make the terrorist attackers regret their cowardly act,” Pezeshkian wrote on the X social network. In his post, he mourned Haniyeh as a “courageous leader.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed “severe punishment” for Israel over the killing of Hamas leader I. Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday.
“With this act, the criminal and terrorist Zionist regime has prepared the ground for severe punishment and we consider it our duty to avenge its blood shed on the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA. The Ayatollah declared that I. Haniyeh died a martyr’s death.
According to Fir Maksad, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Haniyeh’s assassination could have “completely changed the dynamic” between Iran-backed proxies and Israel
“There is a high probability that an organized region-wide campaign (against Israel – ed. post) will begin at this time, which will include various Iranian-backed military groups from Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon. Maybe even Tehran itself will get involved in it, directly responding to Israel,” F. Maksad told the CNN news portal.
He added that the consecutive deaths of leaders of Iran-backed groups is an unprecedented phenomenon and could bring the entire region closer to conflict.
“However, it is very likely that we are in for some dark days that will bring the region to the brink of all-out war,” he asserted.
The expert added that in the past 24 hours, Israel has also demonstrated that it has “extraordinary capabilities” in terms of “effective intelligence” to assassinate senior Iranian proxies.
According to CNN, the strikes have renewed fears of war in the region, with Iran now under pressure to respond to an attack on its soil.
When Israel killed Iran’s top military commanders in an airstrike on the country’s consulate in Syria, Iran responded by launching more than 300 drones and missiles into Israeli territory.
“Shame on Iran”
British Sky News International Correspondent John Sparks says Iran will be embarrassed by the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on its soil and will see it as an act of war by Israel.
According to J. Sparks, the attack will plunge the region into the unknown and there are now fears that a wider conflict may arise in the region.
“The Israelis have not commented,” he says. “They rarely do that.” But I don’t think there is much doubt that they are the authors of this murder.”
“Obviously it is [Iranui] causes inconvenience, – added J. Sparks. – It is a great shame for them, a great violation of their own security, that such a person as I. Haniyeh was killed in the capital, when he came to the inauguration of their president. I think this incident pushes us into the dark. The Iranians are likely to see this as an act of war. I can’t think of any other way for them to appreciate it.”
According to Sky News, Haniyeh’s killing has plunged the Middle East region into obscurity and threatens to escalate the conflict there.
“A former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was quoted as saying that Israel would pay a heavy price for this. I don’t think this will surprise anyone, but it does leave us wondering. This conflict is deepening, this conflict is expanding. I think that the risk is increasing for everyone”, he assesses.
Carried out diplomatic missions
I. Haniyeh arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to participate in the inauguration of the new Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian in the parliament.
Hamas also announced on Wednesday that the Palestinian movement’s political leader I. Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran. Hamas said in a statement that the movement’s leader, Haniyeh, “died in a Zionist strike at his headquarters in Tehran”, before attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on reports of Haniyeh’s death. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu repeatedly promised to destroy Hamas and return all hostages taken during the October 7 attack by the group, which provoked the war in the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli official figures, Hamas terrorists in southern Israel killed 1,197 people, mostly civilians, took 251 hostages, 111 of them are still being held captive in the Gaza Strip, according to the military, 39 of them are already dead.
Haniyeh was elected head of the Hamas politburo in 2017, but was well known before that. in 2006 he became the Palestinian prime minister after Hamas won the parliamentary elections. I. Haniyeh was considered a pragmatist and lived in exile in Turkey and Qatar.
After the outbreak of war, he traveled with diplomatic missions to Iran and Turkey, meeting with both Turkish and Iranian presidents. Haniyeh is said to have maintained good relations with the leaders of various Palestinian groups, including rivals to Hamas. He joined Hamas in 1987, when the group was founded, following the start of the first Palestinian intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation, which lasted until 1993.
Iran has supported the Palestinians since 1979. of the Islamic Revolution and praised Hamas on October 7. attack in Israel but denied any involvement.
2024-07-31 16:18:38